11th Mar 2022
Makeup is always about experimentation and enjoyment; there’s no right or wrong answer, no magic formula or absolute technique we should be using – it’s about finding what works for you, discovering what makes you feel great and enjoying every moment of the application process. However, I know that many of you aren’t too confident with picking out complexion shades and can get confused about the number of options available; if you don’t know where to start, you can’t begin to enjoy the benefits beauty has to offer!
There are some simple ways you can ensure your makeup bag is full of colours that work perfectly for you, and one of those is knowing what your natural skin undertone is. But how do you find that out and how do you know what shades will work best for you?
First up its important to find out your natural skin tone complexion by looking at the colour of your veins on the inside of your wrist: blue or purple veins indicate you have a cool skin tone, while greener veins mean your skin tone is warm. If you can’t decide, it’s likely you have a neutral skin tone and can therefore suit everything! Additionally, make note of whether you have fair skin (pale and easily burned,) medium skin (tan easily and don’t tend to burn,) olive or dark skin.
If you have fair skin, try any shade of light pink, corals or nudes; if you have medium skin, try pink tones if you have a cool undertones, or bronze or berry shades if your undertone is warm; although browns and purples aren’t best suited to olive skin tones, most other colours (particularly coral and strong pinks) look fab; for darker complexions, browns and plum shades are perfect – wine coloured reds are great for cool undertones, while warm undertones look amazing with bronze shades. It’s all about being on the same colour spectrum and enhancing your natural skin tone and complexion rather than using a shade that’s too contrasting.
If you want to go one step further, you can work with your eye colour too. When it comes to enhancing your eyes, it’s simple science; all you have to do is find your eye colour on a standardised colour wheel and find the shades that sit opposite. These are the colours that enhance and complement each other best, and will give you the most beautiful result for your complexion. If you’ve blue eyes, opt for warm metallic hues in golds and coppers to make your iris pop; if you’ve green eyes then pinks and purples should be your go-to, as one swipe will make the green glisten; if you’ve brown eyes then navy blues and glossy greens will enhance your gorgeous brown peepers.
Now you’re armed with the tools to enhance your natural tones, you just need the techniques – and that’s where Wow How comes in! Download it via the app store.